The Institute of Philippine Culture (IPC) and the John J. Carroll Institute for Church and Social Issues (JJCICSI) jointly hosted a Research Dissemination Forum entitled “What are the bishops thinking?” last October 26, 2015, at the Social Sciences Building Conference Rooms 3 and 4 of the Ateneo de Manila University.
The research dissemination forum was based on the preliminary findings of the study “Knowledge Needs, Acquisition, and Use among Catholic Bishops of the Philippines,” a research collaboration between the IPC and JJCICSI. The research team—composed of Marita Concepcion Castro Guevara from the IPC; and Eleanor Dionisio, Anna Marie A. Karaos, and Gemma Rita Marin from JJCICSI—conducted face-to-face interviews with 62 active Catholic bishops of the Philippines. The bishops were asked questions about their views on various social issues facing the country today (including marriage and family issues), as well as their sentiments on the statements of Pope Francis.
Students, faculty, theologians, and staff actively participated in the forum, asking the presenters questions on their research findings. Participants also gave suggestions to the research team to improve the study further.
The forum was held a day after the conclusion of the October 4-25, 2015 Fourteenth General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops with the theme “The Vocation of the Family in the Church and Contemporary World.” It was the IPC’s and the JJCICSI’s joint contribution to the discussion on marriage and family issues raised during the 2015 Vatican Synod on the Family.
The research team will be presenting their study to the bishops in January 2016 in Cebu, during the 112th Plenary Assembly of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.